Monday, 7 January 2013

You’ve made your New Year resolutions, but what about your characters?

This is the time of year when we all…okay,
I…should plan to get thinner, fitter and better organized. Instead of making
resolutions, I imagine where I want to be by year’s end, then work out what steps
will get me closer to my goal.

You can do the same in your writing. Just
like the real world, your story needs high days and holidays. Not that I’ve ever forgotten to include a
Christmas between November and January, and had to go back and write one in.
*Valerie hides growing nose.* What holidays are in your story? How do they
affect the characters’ hopes and dreams?

Making a timeline is a good idea. In what month
does your book start? Roughly when does it end? What’s your setting? The
answers will tell you what seasons the characters will deal with, the clothes
they wear, and the holidays you need to allow for.

Holidays can help or hinder the characters
with their goals. In Birthright, set in
my fictional island kingdom of Carramer, a holiday called Journey Day adds
depth to the story. The indigenous people see Journey Day differently from the
descendants of the French colonists who are now in the majority. Writing about
the day let me explore both sides’ attitudes and beliefs, and how they affect my
alien characters who must come together to defeat a terrifying threat facing
humanity.

What
holidays work for you in a book? Have you made New Year resolutions this year?
What about for your characters? Your comment could win a copy of Birthright for
Kindle with a personalized “authorgraph” to start off your writing year.

Valerie Parvis one of
Australia's most successful writers with more than 29 million books sold in 26
languages. She is the only Australian author honored with a Pioneer of Romance
award from RT Book Reviews, New York. With a lifelong interest in space
exploration, she counts meeting Neil Armstrong as a personal high point. So
it's no wonder she's taking romance to the stars and beyond In Birthright, her
most ambitious novel yet. She loves connecting with readers via her Website,
Blog, Twitter and
on Facebook.

About Birthright Former police officer turned deputy governor,
Shana Akers, is used to handling high-stakes situations. But after learning
that a space shuttle mission about to be launched from her island home may have
a shocking secret agenda, she must turn for answers to the man who has
challenged her mind and emotions for years.

Scientific genius and space center director, Adam
Desai, is a truly self-made man. Found adrift at sea as a baby, he knows
nothing about his origins until two VIPs attending the launch force him to
confront the truth about his past, changing everything Adam has ever believed
about himself.

Faced with a danger that threatens the entire
world, can Adam and Shana find the strength to trust not only each other, but
the mysterious VIPs whose unusual abilities defy logical thinking? Especially
when it becomes clear that they'll need all of their combined resources to
reclaim humanity's BIRTHRIGHT. Published by Corvallis Press USA 2012.